Industries

GM to Make Cadillac XT4 Crossover SUV in KCGM retains 500 jobs to build the new SUV at the KC Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant in addition to the Chevy Malibu already assembled at this location.The Kansas City Star, February 2018

No. 4 City for Manufacturing Job GrowthAccording to Forbes, KC is a top city for growth in manufacturing based on recent economic trends and a three percent increase in sector jobs since 2016.Forbes, June 2017

Best Cities for Jobs
Kansas City ranks No. 3 in Best Cities for Jobs by Glassdoor. Rankings were based on number of job openings, job satisfaction, median base salary and median home value.Glassdoor, September 2017

With more than 25 years of experience, Jill leads the business development team.

Automotive Manufacturing

In the last decade, the Kansas City region has seen significant economic investment from the automotive sector. Reinvestment in General Motors’ Fairfax, Kan. operation ($650 million in 2013 and $245 million in 2016) and Ford’s Claycomo, Mo. facility ($1.2 billion in 2011) has resulted in a surge of interest and investment from automotive suppliers looking to the KC region for new facilities.

Kansas City has been named the #2 auto industry trading hub in North America by the Brookings Institution and employs more than 17,000 individuals in the auto industry. Ford’s KC plant has been cited as its most productive worldwide, producing the new Ford Transit Van and best-selling F-150 truck.

Manufacturing workers in Kansas City are 17% more productive than the national average, as measured by JobsEQ for output per worker. Automotive transportation production workers in Kansas City have similar age and educational attainment characteristics as the national average. However, Kansas City's automotive manufacturing workforce is three percent younger on average than the aging U.S. automotive production workers.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2017

Kansas City is creating a 21st Century Workforce by cultivating a pipeline of preparation through education and training.

Manufacturing industry leaders, education and training providers, and the public workforce system are working together to assess critical hiring needs and the core competencies necessary to fill open positions. This is creating leading-edge education and training programs specifically designed to meet industry’s most pressing needs, like the implementation of the MT1 Certification. The Kansas City region is also the first to pilot a national careers campaign designed to help attract and train young people in advanced manufacturing.